Fall Foliage's Progression
in Vermont, illustrated in five maps

 

vermont county mao

The maps displayed here show approximately when fall foliage is at its best in a particular area. The information comes from official state foliage reports. Complete foliage change in a locale typically occurs over several weeks. Northeast Kingdom foliage (Northeast corner of the VT maps) begins color change early to mid-September and generally peaks near the end of September or beginning of October. Progression of color change moves steadily southward and down in elevation until mid to late October.

Higher elevation spots, even in southern Vermont, may have some trees with peak color in mid to late September. Low elevation areas in the Lake Champlain Basin in western Vermont and the Connecticut River Basin on Vermont's eastern border may not begin color change until a week or two later than high elevations at the same latitude. These areas may have some color through the season but do not reach peak color until early to mid-October, at nearly the same time that many low to mid elevation southern Vermont areas attain full color.

For early foliage, northeastern Vermont is obviously the best and prices for accommodation are usually less than in the south. As the colors unfold, we will be displaying a weekly foliage map that more closely depicts where the best foliage is for a particular week.



early fall color map starting fall color
mid color fading color
late color